2012 NHL Draft Profile: Brady Skjei

If you’re of the belief that the Boston Bruins need to add
defensive depth to the organization, then Brady Skjei could be in
the club’s wheelhouse for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in
June.

Defenseman Brady Skjei helped Team USA
win its fourth gold medal in a row at the World Under-18
Championship this spring. (Photo by Tom Sorensen)

The native Minnesotan and U.S. National Team Development Program
product has good size at 6-feet-2, 200-pounds and is one of the
draft’s best skaters at the position. The University of
Minnesota recruit was on the Team USA squad that won a fourth
consecutive gold medal at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship in
April.

“It speaks for how good USA hockey has gotten since the
program has been around,” Skjei said recently as he packed up
his belongings to make the trip from Ann Arbor, Mich. to his home
in Lakeville, Minn. “The chemistry of the guys on the
(Under-18 team) is unbelievable. I was with them every day—in
and out of school—on and off the ice. We developed a good
bond and that carried over in our practices, games and
roadies.”

Skjei and his mates overcame the doom-and-gloom of some
predictions that held that the 2012 version of the Under-18 Team
would not be able to extend Team USA’s winning streak. The
Americans punctuated their impressive run to the IIHF title with a
thrashing of Team Sweden in the championship game that won’t
soon be forgotten.

“It was good to finish our time here as a team with
another (Under-18) championship,” said Skjei. “It was a
team win. We all had our roles to play and we came together when it
mattered most.”

Skjei is a confident player who said he left his home state two
years ago for the challenge of the national team program because he
didn’t feel high school provided the challenge he sought.

“I think I’m a smooth-skating
‘D’,” he said when asked to describe his game.
“I’m able to bring the puck up the ice quickly and
I’m reliable in the d-zone, too. I think I make a good first
pass on the breakout.”

Skjei said he patterns his own game after that of fellow
Minnesotan Nick Leddy, now a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Skjei derives inspiration from Philadelphia’s Matt Carle as
well.

Although Skjei brings some fine hockey tools and has the size
for it, his number one area of improvement lies with the contact
aspect of the game.

“I think being more physical is the No. 1 thing for
me,” said Skjei. “I’m not afraid to throw the
body, but I need to just get better at using my body more
effectively. Right now, my game is more about using my feet and
angling guys away from prime scoring areas, and things like
that.”

Skjei comes from fine athletic stock: his grandfather, Stan
Skjei played cornerback at the University of Minnesota, while his
uncle Brett Sadek was a QB for the Golden Gophers as well. Another
uncle, Barry Karn, is the skating coach for the Minnesota Wild, and
young Skjei trained alongside NHL veterans from the state like
Jordan Leopold.

The two-way blueliner has come a long way since he left
Minnesota for the NTDP. He gained 20 pounds between his first and
second year with the program and gained valuable experience against
USHL, NCAA and international competition.

“Being on the Under-17 team meant we were working out a
lot,” he said. “We had a lot of tough days, tough
practices that would grind you out. But all that work pays off. We
were playing opponents who were bigger, faster and stronger, but
that all helped us to be able to put it all together this
season.”

With his size and speed, Skjei appears to have worked himself
solidly into position among the first 30 selections next month.

“This is a kid who has really improved for me in the two
years I’ve watched him,” an NHL scout with a Western
Conference team said recently. “He has some real power in his
stride and he’s able to advance the puck pretty effectively.
I think he’s only now starting to develop the offensive
dimension of his game.”

If today’s NHL is more about speed and agility at the
defense position, then Skjei brings the best of both worlds.

“He’s a very good skater,” said another NHL
scout, this one with an Eastern Conference club. “He’s
a good all-around d-man with size who skates so well.”

Others, however, are concerned that Skjei’s impressive
mobility is countered by a feeling that he does not have the
offensive potential to be a legitimate top-two defenseman at the
highest level.

“He’s limited in my opinion,” said one
NHL scout who attended the Under-18 tournament in Brno, Czech
Republic. “I wonder about the vision and the hockey sense
sometimes. I think he has the physical package to be an NHLer, but
he may not be anything more than a fifth or sixth guy, and I would
be leery of taking that kind of player in the first
round.”

Even if opinions vary among those in the scouting community, one
of his teammates has no doubt that Skjei is on the right path to an
NHL career.

“He’s a real rink rat and great guy in the locker
room,” said fellow USA defender Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown,
Mass.) “He improved his defensive play this season and
has a big stick; such a good skater and great kid.”

With Skjei having emerged as one of the “safer”
options in the current draft class, there just might be enough
believers that his offensive game has some untapped potential to
see him drafted before the 25th selection.